Notes from The Bookhouse Babes – What Twin Peaks Means To Me.

This week we opened up the floor to the Babes community and asked, “What does Twin Peaks mean to you?” We prepared ourselves for receiving many different stories. What we did not prepare ourselves for was how emotional and personal some of those stories were. We pride ourselves on being an open and welcome community and we feel so proud and honored that those that chose to reach out and give us their stories felt so trusting to share these very personal accounts with us. It has brought so many of us joy, a creative outlet, closure, healing, and inspiration. We could go on and on, but we’ll let everyone’s story speak for itself.

Lexie M

“To me it means so many things. I’m a more recent fan. I discovered the show last July after hearing some things about the Return and finally getting around to watching the first two seasons in Netflix. I followed up with Season 3 and was completely hooked. Finding Twin Peaks came around at both a great and terrible time for me. I was doing great with my mental health when I first discovered Twin Peaks. It had everything I enjoyed in great television, with the added nostalgia. I fell in love the characters, especially Audrey and Dale Cooper of course. It struck a deep chord with me, its dark themes yet beautiful light hearted and funny moments and even the weird moments that threw me through a loop. And then a few months after my initial viewing, I went through a bit of a rough patch in my personal life and Twin Peaks was one of the few things Id watched, or been involved in that was giving me something uplifting. The community around the show has been so amazing and welcoming, and the show itself helped me deal with my own personal demons in a way. The Return wasn’t as happy and nostalgic as the original run but I personally enjoyed that it wasn’t. It gave me room to think about the questions it posed and it was complicated and confusing. Kind of like how I was feeling in my own life. I initially connected with Dale Cooper upon first viewing but after a re-watch and seeing Fire Walk With Me I realized I connected with Laura Palmer even more. I’m young like her and while I haven’t had to deal with the heavy issues she dealt with in her life, I still felt like I understood to some level the pressure and fear she had being a young adult. Navigating mental illness and dysfunctional family relations and blossoming sexuality. I fell in love with the beauty and complexity of her character. I think that’s why I love Twin Peaks so much. The characters are so wonderful. Even the smallest side character is intriguing and unique and the main characters are complex and deep. The show makes you think but also has a lot of nostalgia, humor and has varying genres in it. There’s a bit of something in it for everyone. I liked to think of it initially as a little piece of Americana for the tone it set. And it’s easily one of the few shows out there that not only entertained me but also made an impact in my life: Whether it is making new friends from the online community or watching it at a very rough point in my life. Twin Peaks is truly something special.”

Twin Peaks Dirtbag

“My first introduction to David Lynch was elephant man. I was pretty young. My dad always wanted me to see quality films about true life. I was mesmerized by the monster of a sympathetic man Lynch created.

I did not see Twin Peaks when it first aired. So, my Peaks story begins about a decade ago, when I was finishing Grad School, a House I looked over had wall to wall books, records, and eclectic films/TV shows. I was always a fan of X Files and noticed Twin Peaks available to watch on DVD. So, I began the journey.

Long story short, as I suspect many of us are, I’m a bit socially odd. I’m fun, but I’m not the life of a party. I have friends, but most people don’t get me. While I’ve enjoyed films and TV throughout my life, nothing resonated with me like Twin Peaks. The quirky humor was me. The not-quite innocent, not quite bad teens were me. The complexity from simplicity was me.

I immersed myself in the culture. To me, that town was where I should have been.

But, getting back to my first introduction of Lynch… I talked about his Monster Of A Sympathetic Man, well, Leland Palmer was that… only far more complex. Did he choose Bob? Did he even have any idea? He was a loving father. I don’t doubt his tears for Laura. But that Monster?

My father was a lawyer. In my teens when I would get in trouble, mostly for doing the wrong things for the right reasons, my father always said there’s a little monster in all of us. Left unchecked or indulged, it is what you become. So the Leland/Bob aspect always interested me from a duality point of view.

Flash forward 10 years and maybe 15 total viewings of Twin Peaks, and The Return is happening. I genuinely had no idea when I created this handle I would find people affixed within the culture like me. Nobody I know really understands my fandom of it. So, earlier when I said I should have lived in Twin Peaks, when I found this community, I felt home. Twin Peaks allows me to be unabashedly me. And this community I’ve found and who found me, allow me to be unabashedly me.

In a world where odd is weird, odd Twin Peaks is everyone. I’d say I’m very much Harry Goaz in real life. Odd dude, photographer of the peculiar, but kind, loving, and easily taken advantage of (last part is a projection of my own experiences). You show me an atrocity and I’ll cry. You show me a kid and I’ll totally raise it to be a Penny Lane or a Wally Brando.

This is probably more than you wanted. But like the waterfall beneath the Great Northern, the floodgates of such a question of “what does Twin Peaks Mean to you” can’t be contained.

Thank you for being a part of my community.”

Malinda

“I was introduced to TP at 10 years old. It taught me that being different from my peers was okay. It helped me cope w/my extreme anxiety caused by a verbally/emotionally abusive 4th grade teacher (that I was too afraid to tell anyone about at the time) by allowing me to escape into a world where strangeness was celebrated. 29 yrs. later it’s still helping me deal with my anxiety issues. I will never be able to thank Lynch, Frost, cast & crew enough for giving me a world both wonderful and strange to get lost in. TP has always been more than just a TV show to most of us. It is part of us for so many diverse reasons.”

Laurel Pho

“Hi there! Since you asked, Season 3 for me is a fascinating vision; it sucked me in like nothing else ever has. I’m a fan of all kinds of things, but this is in a category by itself. It has a unique power that is beyond my meager descriptive capabilities; it’s a resonant experience beyond rational thought. 3 led me to 1-2 (which I’d seen some of back in the day and I thought was cool, but didn’t go beyond that) and appreciate that much more; then the books, articles, etc… It’s been so fun to interact on twitter, and to experience the creativity and humor of the community. I’m pretty peripheral and may never meet any of you, but I appreciate that you’re all out there keeping this alive!”

Pasquino Salentino

“HellOOoo! I hope Google has done a good job :)Buona giornata!

Twin Peaks, given its longevity, represents multiple and changing important aspects in the life of a fan, marked by the passing of the years. In any case, a reference point. If I think of the series 1 and 2 and at that time I remember my first television approach with strong emotions, exasperated, with mystery, fear, irony, despair, love, violence … At the end of the two I had understood very little about the series (I was 16), but David Lynch and Mark Frost had made me smell that there was a parallel universe artistically, a road that was not the most comfortable but certainly the most stimulating and attractive one; the instinct and instinct led me to prefer the second, which greatly contributed to change the point of view on what surrounded me, the extraordinary and strange world of Twin Peaks then broke the patterns and dictated a new course. I had unconsciously raised the bar in terms of musical, cinematographic and artistic tastes in general; this among other things is representative for me.

In the following 25 years I have covered the series over and over again, tasting more and more details. Given my passion for music, it was a great source of inspiration. It happened to pay homage to the show with themed playbills, projections, pieces taken from the soundtrack; a way to keep alive the memory of the show and to reiterate that it was the number 1. On the web then I started to follow Lynch and the world of TP in the early 2000s.

The Return instead was the most beautiful gift that a fan could receive. personally represents a show that years later has shown that there is still a damn original style, a production that has returned dignity to the passage of time not falling into nostalgia, which at least in Italy has marked the last 15 years in the art scene, a festival of the already seen, a mortification of the senses. Revisiting my heroes on the screen with a freshness and brilliance regardless of everything motivates me every day and represents a reason for serenity; time does not flow in vain.”

Totesambular

“In Response to “what Twin Peaks means to me” It has been a savior, it is a friend anytime I am alone or bored and I need to be curious with Lucy or solve a puzzle with Cooper. Twin Peaks is a community, a conversation starter, something I share with my best friend. Twin Peaks means the world to me; oh and its great home decor inspo (inspiration).”

Eli Redman

“I have been thinking about this question off & on all day, trying to find a way to sum it up briefly. Boy, that’s tough. Here goes; Twin Peaks and I have been together for over 27 years, since the very beginning. My relationship with, & love for, Twin Peaks has outlived two marriages. It has become a part of me and helped shape my creativity. It gave me permission to embrace my own quirkiness and encouraged me to honor my gifts and talents; to hold my head high in the face of adversity. Twin Peaks has inspired me throughout my adult life and now, through Twitter, has connected me with so many wonderful fans. This is truly an amazing gift that I am so grateful for. All those years ago, this is what attracted me: the music, the atmosphere of every single scene, shot, set, & location, the characters & the actors that brought them to life, the wardrobe, the makeup, the coffee, pie, and donuts. The list goes on and on. I wish I could tell Mark Frost and David Lynch how much I love their collaboration and creation of Twin Peaks. Who knows, maybe they’ll see this. Either way, Twin Peaks continues to be a dear old friend.”

The next story we are going to share, we want to personally thank Pattie for sharing. She truly lent us a piece of her heart in what she sent and we cannot thank her enough for her strength and trust.

Pattie Mulderig

“What does Twin Peaks mean to me? It’s really hard to put into words, but the genius of it is that from the very first episode (the pilot), I just felt like I knew these people. I knew this town. I felt their feelings. I saw a lot of my younger, confused self in Laura. I was never a homecoming queen, or one of the most popular girls in high school, but there was something about her that spoke to me. When it started coming out how she had this secret side of promiscuity and drugs, I identified even more because I had that same secret side. Imagine my surprise when I found out in the second season that her father had been sexually abusing her for years (under the possession or guidance of BOB.) For me, just translated as evil, which I also recognized, since my mother’s boyfriend sexually abused me for most of my childhood – hence the acting out of promiscuity and trying to cover the pain with drugs. When they took Leland into jail and he confessed to it all after BOB cracked him open, I cried for the confession I never heard. So, to recognize myself in something that wasn’t written about me in that way was a real revelation and set me on my real road to recovery from all of those terrible secrets, memories, and feelings. I can never thank David Lynch enough for so beautifully portraying the casual evil that women go through. That’s just part of the reason I love it so much. Another reason is there is such a core of decency and kindness and real heart in the work that can’t be denied. The added bonus was the humor – so many funny moments that just made me laugh and cry at the same time. It is not hyperbole to say that Twin Peaks changed my life. It’s the truth.”

As you can see Twin Peaks means many things to many people. From a personal standpoint, Twin Peaks has meant so very much to us. We have gained many friends to share in the experience and excitement of Twin Peaks return. We have found a family in our 25YL Site team and writers. We had the experience of sharing our theory knowledge and love of all things Peaks with Twin Peaks Unwrapped podcast. Twin Peaks has truly brought us moments in our life we will always remember and never forget.

Thank you to all our beautiful Bookhouse Babes who shared with us. Thank you to the Twin Peaks community for always showing damn fine support and love. This is quite the gifted and damned group we have!

Until next time, “May your coffee be hot, and your dreams damn fine!”

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2 Replies to “Notes from The Bookhouse Babes – What Twin Peaks Means To Me.”

WOW Babes WOW! This touches my heart to the core. Thank You to everyone who shared and Thank You Bookhouse Babes & 25 YL for asking this question.
I am truly grateful to be a part of this wonderful community.